Green Party TD Mr Ciaran Cuffe has stepped aside as the party's spokesman on the environment after it emerged he holds shares in six oil exploration companies.
Files released by the Dún Laoghaire TD yesterday show that he owns a total of $68,253 worth of shares in ChevronTexaco, BP Amoco, Exxon, Schlumberger, Smith International and Unocal, out of a total portfolio worth $1.37m.
In a statement released after a parliamentary party meeting today Mr Cuffe said he had "already been in contact with my bank, and I intend disposing of the shares, in the companies that I am unhappy with without, delay."
Green Party Leader, Mr Trevor Sargent, said: "It is important to note that at all times Ciarán has been in full compliance with the law and all related regulations.
"This incident is a lesson for all of us in the Green Party. We are now reviewing our procedures to ensure that all public representatives and candidates can stand over any financial interests that they may have, from the point of view of compatibility with the Party's founding principles and constitution."
Mr Cuffe inherited the shares portfolio from his mother Patricia three years ago. She was a sister of Ethel Skakel, who married Robert Kennedy in 1950.
Mr Cuffe also owns shares in the US multinational, Sara Lee, one of the companies blamed by environmentalists for paying poor prices to Third World coffee farmers.
The majority of Mr Cuffe's portfolio, which is traded on his behalf by his broker, Mr Elliot Randolph of Brown Investments, is held in financial, healthcare and high-technology stocks.
Mr Cuffe updated his entry in the Register of Members Interests in Leinster House on June 5th, just days before the controversy broke at the weekend. The new entry shows that his investment manager bought shares in AOL Time Warner and a restaurant chain, Outback Steakhouse, since his original submission was made late last year.
